


The High Chieftess Half-Orc Witch

by axiolotl



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 04:18:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11246169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axiolotl/pseuds/axiolotl
Summary: The story of how the daughter of an orc High Chief and a human woman was sent to wizarding school, with a brand new staff.





	The High Chieftess Half-Orc Witch

**Author's Note:**

> I did a prompt challenge on tumblr and got the prompt, "I don’t care what they said, it doesn’t mean shit!" from kiramaesavestheworld, specifically with Effie and her father. 
> 
> Effie is an original character I recently created for a D&D campaign my friend started. I wanted to get away from the usual grimdark-my-family-is-dead murder-hobo trope of most of my characters, and ended up with a shy half-orc lesbian witch, whose dad is really supportive of her. He sends her care packages while she's at wizarding school. I love them. 
> 
> Mostly, I wanted to establish how she gets her arcane focus (and main weapon). Enjoy!

“Do you have all of your books?” 

Effie looked through her knapsack for the fourth time, ensuring the required texts were there. She knew exactly which books she needed, but she did it more to reassure her dad more than anything else. “Yeah, dad.”

Her towering, usually intimidating father looked surprisingly nervous, wringing his clawed hands together. “I just — you know this is hard for me.” 

She nodded slightly, arranging the clothing and supplies in her chest. She couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for High Chief Dumarg Utrurmar, leader of the mighty Urturmar tribe, to decide to mate with a human woman to have an heir with an advantage...only for her to turn out to be a magic user. Effie knew how to fight, sure, her first memories being her father teaching her to spar, her first toy a small battlehammer, her coming-of-age gift a sword. But she never relished the hunt as much as her peers, or had the anger in her to go hand-to-hand. 

Effie knew she was different for a while, preferring to read over fight, loving the stories of the Elders rather than sparring. It wasn’t until her first hunt to prove her womanhood, when a bear cornered her and a burst of magical energy blasted from her hands, that she knew  _ how  _ different she really was. 

Magic users in her tribe were, at best, seen as mystics that were near heretical to Gruumsh, or at worst, exiled. Effie didn’t miss the glares from the Elders, knowing they grumbled about how they would not find a strong Chieftess in her. Her peers didn’t withhold as much, orcs closer to her age often sneering and making rude gestures at her. 

Her mother — fiercer than their strongest hunter, despite being a human woman — of course supported her instantly. Started looking for the best universities for her to hone her skills. 

Her father’s eyes had gone blank, as though something in him had finally broken. She couldn’t stand knowing that it was because of her. 

“Effie,” her father said, looking at her intently. She stared up, slightly confused. “You have found your  _ gareke _ , and I am so happy for you.” 

“Dad, you don’t have to —”

“I am not lying,” he said, his voice gruff from not speaking, grunts usually communicating enough — not that he wasn’t smart, but his power and gravitas spoke for itself. “I could not be prouder of you, my little bear.” His favorite pet name for her.

Effie slowly stood, tears threatening to fall as she looked at her fearsome dad, caught off guard by this outpouring of affection. Her father had always been tender with her. Patient. But he never so openly said these things. 

He put a massive hand on her cheek, his calloused thumb wiping away a tear.

She leaned into his hand. “But, the Elders said —” 

“I don’t care what they said, it doesn’t mean a damned thing!” he growled, the ferocity back in his eyes, his other hand on her shoulder as though to ground her from her thoughts. “My heart fell to a human woman, and the tribe survived. So if my daughter leads them with a staff rather than a sword, then they will learn to survive!”

Effie hiccuped and tried to wipe away more of her tears, and her father wrapped her in a tight hug, holding her together. She felt a weight lift off of her shoulders — the weight of self doubt and fear leaving her as her father squeezed her body in his thick arms, reassuring his love for her. 

“This is only hard for me because I will not be able to see my little bear grow,” he said, holding her. “I cannot wait to see how powerful you become.” She swore she felt tears on her shoulder coming from her dad. But the High Chief Urtrumar?  _ Crying _ ? It made her hiccup again, halfway to a laugh. 

He pulled away, and then seemed to jump a bit as though he had forgotten something. “That reminds me,” he stepped away into the hallway, then came back with something long, covered in fur. 

He gestured for her to put out her hands, and he took what looked like a bear pelt off and placed a dark wooden staff in her hands. 

“I asked the priests to bless it, and the mystics helped me with the runes,” he said, wrapping the bear pelt around her shoulders. “And I skinned the bear you killed in your Hunt. I figured that castle would be cold, with no proper bonfires or furs.” 

Effie’s hefted the tall wooden staff, clearly hand carved by her father, sanded and polished with runes, carefully, even artfully engraved in the sides. The wood was dark, coming from the same trees that surrounded their tribe. It hummed with magical energy, wild but powerful, and she felt her whole body warm. The top knob of it was carved with the symbol of Gruumsh, her clan, and her name. Marking it as hers. 

She secured the cape of a bear pelt around her shoulders and put the staff in one hand before going and hugging her father again. He chuckled, and she could feel his smile over her shoulder. 

As he pulled away, his smile showed off his tusks, and he smoothed her hair. “I wanted the best for my little bear.”

“Dad, this...these are perfect. I love you so much.” 

“Anything for you,” he said, showing off his toothy smile. “Now, come, let us get your supplies onto the pack horse before your mother leads it in here herself.”


End file.
